The story of the Ponca City Seventh-day Adventist Church begins with a handful of passionate people ready to share the gospel message back in October 1917. In the Southwestern Union Record, a brief note captures the moment: “Elder D. F. Sturgeon was in Ponca City, assisted by Brother Bricker and Miss Wilcox, holding a tent effort where several people chose to take their stand for truth.”
Those early days were shaped by dedication and simple faithfulness. The work in Oklahoma grew through the steady efforts of canvassers and camp meetings, which helped the message spread farther than anyone might have expected.
Here in Ponca City, it looked simple and real. Tent meetings were held on a lot near the open-air Farmer’s Market on the south side of 500 W Grand Avenue. In a tent with a metal frame, lives were changed, and a small community of believers was born and they called themselves the Ponca City Sabbath School Company.
Like many early Adventist groups, this congregation didn’t begin in a church building, but in homes. People gathered in living rooms, sharing faith, hope, and fellowship. And the handful of believers partnering with Christ were seeing growth!
What started as a few people brought into the truth by way of colporteurs would soon need more space… and that turn in the bend would lead them somewhere unexpected…